Loop quantum effect and the fate of tachyon field collapse

We study the fate of gravitational collapse of a tachyon field matter. In presence of an inverse square potential a black hole forms. Loop quantum corrections lead to the avoidance of classical singularities, which is followed by an outward flux of energy.Comment: Contribution to the conference of Loops'11, Madri

Transformative community mental health: perspectives from Portugal and Europe

In the context of the agreement protocol celebrated between APA (American Psychological Association) and OPP (Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses) was held in San Francisco, for the 156 th edition of APA annual convention an invited symposium. Were invited speakers the first two of authors of this paper, and the symposium held this same title: Transformative community mental health: perspectives from Portugal and Europe. This symposia was chaired by Amanda Clinton, Director of the Office of International Affairs from APA and was registered the presence of some of the representative from European Associations of Psychologists (including the delegation of OPP), and the presence of the Portuguese diplomatic representation in San Francisco, represented by the Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco. This brief note aims at synthetizing the main ideas flowing from this debate, highlighting the importance of having two Portuguese researchers reporting not only the contemporary views on prevention and promotion but also successful case studies from Portugal and from Europe in the area of Transformative Community Mental Health. Some aspects of the trajectory of scientific knowledge in recent decades and their impact on interventions in the area of Psychology, Public Health, Mental Health and Public Policies will be highlighted, and three case studies related to successful psychological interventions and three successful national public policies will be shortly discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prosody growth and reading comprehension: a longitudinal study from 2nd through the end of 3rd grade

Prosody is an important but not fully understood component of reading. In this longitudinal study with a sample of 98 Portuguese elementary school children, a multilevel growth model with four repeated measures over time showed steady progress in participants’ reading prosody from the middle of 2nd to the end of 3rd grade. However, children’s growth in this area varied across time points. Results also showed that individual differences in prosody’s scores at baseline affect the performance of most but not of all students. Simple linear regressions showed that the prosody dimension “phrasing/expression” significantly predicted reading comprehension at all time points. Partial correlation analysis showed that when reading rate was accounted for, the unique contribution of prosody to reading comprehension was marginal, except at the third measurementA prosódia é uma importante mas nem sempre bem compreendida componente da leitura. Neste estudo longitudinal, com uma amostra de 98 estudantes do ensino primário, um modelo multinível com quatro medidas repetidas no tempo evidencia uma evolução estável da leitura prosódica dos participantes entre o 2.º e o 3.º ano de escolaridade. Contudo a evolução é desigual nos diversos momentos no tempo. Os resultados também mostram que as diferenças inter-individuais na linha de base da prosódia nem sempre condicionam o desempenho dos participantes. Regressões lineares simples revelam que nos quatro momentos de avaliação a dimensão construção frásica/expressividade prediz significativamente a compreensão da leitura. Análises de correlação parcial mostram que uma vez controlada a velocidade de leitura, a contribuição única da prosódia se torna residual

Supersymmetric Quantization of Anisotropic Scalar-Tensor Cosmologies

In this paper we show that the spatially homogeneous Bianchi type I and Kantowski-Sachs cosmologies derived from the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity admit a supersymmetric extension at the quantum level. Global symmetries in the effective one-dimensional actions characterize both classical and quantum solutions. A wide family of exact wavefunctions satisfying the supersymmetric constraints are found. A connection with quantum wormholes is briefly discussed.Comment: In Press, Class. Quantum Grav. 20 pages, Late

Europeans’ willingness to pay for ending homelessness: A contingent valuation study

The purpose of this study is to assess the utility value European citizens put on an innovative social program aimed at reducing homelessness. The Housing First (HF) model involves access to regular, scattered, independent and integrated housing in the community with the support of a multidisciplinary team. Currently, HF is not implemented by most European countries or funded by healthcare or social plans, but randomised controlled trials have stressed significant results for improved housing stability, recovery and healthcare services use. The broader implementation of HF across Europe would benefit from a better understanding of citizens' preferences and “willingness to pay” (WTP) for medico-social interventions like HF. We conducted a representative telephone survey between March and December 2017 in eight European countries (France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden). Respondent's WTP for HF (N = 5631) was assessed through a contingent valuation method with a bidding algorithm. 42.3% of respondents were willing to pay more taxes to reduce homelessness through the HF model, and significant differences were found between countries (p < 0.001); 30.4% of respondents who did not value the HF model were protest zeros (either contested the payment vehicle-taxes- or the survey instrument). Respondents were willing to pay €28.2 (±11) through annual taxation for the HF model. Respondents with higher educational attainment, who paid national taxes, reported positive attitudes about homelessness, or reported practices to reduce homelessness (donations, volunteering) were more likely to value the HF model, with some countries' differences also related to factors at the environmental level. These findings inform key stakeholders that European citizens are aware of the issue of homelessness in their countries and that scaling up the HF model across Europe is both feasible and likely to have public support